DIY PR by Penny Haywood Calder

A recent Accountemps survey of 150 top US executives listed the following top annoying jargon words:

Leverage

Reach out

It is what it is

Viral

Game changer

Disconnect

Value-add

Circle back

Socialise

Interface

Despite the list originating in the US, these are all terms I come across a lot.


The list also included words that previously appeared in their earlier (2004) survey, which sadly we still see today:

At the end of the day

Synergy

Solution

Think outside the box

On the same page

Customer-centric

People use jargon to indicate they're up with the latest management fads, as immortalised by the David Brent character in 'The Office' TV series a few years ago. As a result, far from being impressed by jargon, it's more likely to produce an image of an ineffectual man with a bad break-dancing tendency!

It's not a good image. It's not good PR. It's not even good communication.

Labels: clear communications, content, copy, copy writing, jargon, PR